THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS RUIN STOPPED. 13 



a boy, ) I never could be tempted to back either a 

 horse of my own or that of any other person for 5/. in 

 my life. I love racing as a sport, and do declare that 

 for a moderate stake, I should leave the course in 

 higher spirits if my horse had won handsomely, 

 though he might have gone the wrong side of a post, 

 by which I should lose the stakes, than I should had 

 he run a bad second, and my opponent's horse, from 

 having made the mistake, caused the stakes to be 

 given to me. With this feeling, no man will ruin 

 himself by keeping race-horses ; for this very feeling 

 will keep him from risking heavy betting. 



I will instance a man whose name will never be 

 forgotten by the sporting world, or cease to be 

 mentioned in terms of admiration and respect by all 

 who had the advantage of his acquaintance ; I mean 

 Francis Mellish, Esq., better known as Captain 

 Mellish. He was, I should say, a man of thirty-five 

 when I was a boy of fifteen. From him I caught 

 the love of racing ; from him I first got what little 

 knowledge I have of racing matters ; and from him 

 I got advice that, unfortunately for himself, he had 

 not resolution enough to follow. I will mention an 

 anecdote in proof of this. I met him on the course 

 at Newmarket, when he saluted me with, " What the 

 devil are you looking so sulky about ?" — I replied, 

 " I am not sulky, but I have been losing my money." 

 — "I am glad of it," said he : " what have you been 

 backing ?" — " Your horse." — " How much have you 

 lost?" — "50/." — "Well, I have lost 1500/. on the 

 same race ; but if I was fool enough to bet, it was no 

 reason you should have done so." — I replied, and 

 truly, " It was the first bet I had ever made." — His 

 answer has been engraven in letters of gold on tlie 



